[quote=IrishRider;323449]
And this is the most expensive show in Albuquerque of the year and they used to have fantastic prizes and this year was terrible. I know the economy is down and I'm sure the show organizers were feeling it too but the prizes were terrible. Quote]

We had something similar happen here. Our CSHA Region 2 had a buckle series (finally) so that we could get points for state BUT then the show manager decided they did not have enough money for approved judges so we had volunteer judges at all the shows with no high points and ribbons were 1st - 4th and there were a decent amount of people there (about 5 or 8 in every class) so I called the manager up (she is becoming a friend) and I offered to help with High point prizes for next year and she tells me
"OH that's ok I have some left over from last year."
Me:"OH ok great. How come we didn't use them this year?"
Her:"OH they weren't ready."
So that was a little strange to say the least but it was a fun show none the less.

IrishRider- I'd be coming from OK so it's like a 10 hour drive! Just wasn't worth it IMO. Maybe next year! Albuquerque's always had a good reputation for a being a great show. However, the show manager is not a popular guy. I know a lot of people who don't go to his shows because of his poor management. We had 2 weeks of rated shows here (the Sandia was week II). Tons of people hauled in from all over for the first week and left instead of staying for the 2nd. And I know lots of people who didn't come to either because they didn't want to make a long haul for just the 1st week. So i'm thinking economy isn't the only factor....

IrishRider- I'd be coming from OK so it's like a 10 hour drive! Just wasn't worth it IMO. Maybe next year! Albuquerque's always had a good reputation for a being a great show. However, the show manager is not a popular guy. I know a lot of people who don't go to his shows because of his poor management. We had 2 weeks of rated shows here (the Sandia was week II). Tons of people hauled in from all over for the first week and left instead of staying for the 2nd. And I know lots of people who didn't come to either because they didn't want to make a long haul for just the 1st week. So i'm thinking economy isn't the only factor....

I agree with this. This year was definitely poor turnout and just bad all around. I was speaking with the lady at the local tack shop here and she told me she had complaint after complaint about the show this year. I guess they donated a bunch of super nice saddle pads for them to give away as prizes for the "normal" riders and they only gave them to the Grand Prix riders. I told her that was all I saw of the pads and she was not pleased. I think that will be the last time they are so generous to the Classic. Sadly, the lower rated shows put on by our HJ Assoc. Are much nicer and better run. We really need a good show here so it concerns me that this one has been consistently bad for a couple of years now.

I agree with this. This year was definitely poor turnout and just bad all around. I was speaking with the lady at the local tack shop here and she told me she had complaint after complaint about the show this year. I guess they donated a bunch of super nice saddle pads for them to give away as prizes for the "normal" riders and they only gave them to the Grand Prix riders. I told her that was all I saw of the pads and she was not pleased. I think that will be the last time they are so generous to the Classic. Sadly, the lower rated shows put on by our HJ Assoc. Are much nicer and better run. We really need a good show here so it concerns me that this one has been consistently bad for a couple of years now.

That's kind of funny, prizes were a huge issue at our week of the Sandia as well! Week I (the previous show) was AWESOME. The ribbons were absolutely huge and ornate (the Classic ribbons were like 3 ft long with like 7 ribbons hanging from it!!) and every 1st got an engraved silver plate! Plus other nice prizes (like fancy wine glasses or a Devoucoux saddle cleaner/conditioner basket) for champion and reserve. The week of the Sandia? Dinky little ribbons that weren't as nice as some schooling shows, and that was it. Everyone was like, are you kidding?! The sad thing is, that 2nd week of the show used to be THE biggest show in the state back before "JD" was managing it. It was a giant charity event with a very popular 25K grand prix out at this park that drew huge crowds from even non-horse people. We all looked forward to it. Now? I think I've been to schooling shows that were bigger for a fraction of the cost.

Yep. You used to get really nice pottery for every first place that you received. This time, they gave out cruddy little canvas bags with the Sandia Classic logo on it. I mean bags that you find at the dime store. When I got home and held the ribbons up to the ribbons I got at the lower rated show earlier this year, the other ribbons blew the Classic's away. Larger rossettes, longer ribbons, thicker ribbons. And the NMHJA prizes for first place are fun...wine glasses, beer glasses, really nice tote bags, lunch coolers, etc. You had to get numerous firsts to get a decent prize and Champion got a vest but Reserve got only a ribbon. So does "JD" just do the Sandia or does he also do the Tulsa?

FYI, sorry to the original poster for kind of hijacking this. It's exciting to see someone else on here that knows what I am talking about. :)

By "Sandia" I actually meant the Tulsa Classic. I think "JD" 's management name is Sandia Horse Shows or something and all of his show bills have Sandia written across them. So we often refer to them as that!

Are you talking about NMHJA year end awards? I'm on the board for the HJA in my state and I'm always curious about what other states give away as year end awards! (and where they get the majority of their funding from...)

By "Sandia" I actually meant the Tulsa Classic. I think "JD" 's management name is Sandia Horse Shows or something and all of his show bills have Sandia written across them. So we often refer to them as that!

Are you talking about NMHJA year end awards? I'm on the board for the HJA in my state and I'm always curious about what other states give away as year end awards! (and where they get the majority of their funding from...)

I was talking about the prizes you get to pick at every show when you get a first in a class. The year-end awards are different. Last year I believe the Champs got a leather halter, the Reserves got a director's chair. And they all got giant ribbons. I think in year's past they have given coolers out as well. I think the majority of NMHJA's funding comes from donations but I could be wrong. And they just dealt with a major embezzlement scandal so they have even less money to play with, and still have cooler prizes than the Classic. Bleh. What do you guys do for your year-end?

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